September 15 Green Energy News…

“Is Oil Industry Threatened By More Than Electric Vehicles?” • Execs at a number of top fossil fuel companies have suggested that even after demand for oil and natural gas peaks, demand for petrochemical feedstocks for plastics, fertilizers, and other chemicals will stay strong. But plastics pose a serious problems that have to be addressed. [CleanTechnica]

Oil and Agriculture

Donald Trump has indicated that Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have not changed his view on climate change. When a reporter asked for his thoughts on the hurricanes and climate change, he said, “We’ve had bigger storms than this.” But he had earlier said of Hurricane Harvey, “There’s probably never been anything like this.” [Independent.ie]

Drax, a UK power company, announced that it is seeking planning permission to install a 200-MW battery onsite. If approved and commissioned, the storage facility would be the biggest in the world, dwarfing the 129-MW lithium-ion battery project that is currently being built in Australia by Tesla and Neoen. [RenewEconomy]

A US district judge cited tribal sovereignty in dismissing a lawsuit aimed at shutting down a coal-fired power plant and adjacent mine near the Arizona-New Mexico border. The lawsuit targeted the 2015 approval by the US government of a lease extension for the Navajo Mine and the Four Corners Power Plant. [Power Engineering Magazine]

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority signed off on power purchase contracts between the Connecticut’s two utilities and developers of 28 renewable energy generation projects, selected by bid. In all, the projects are expected to generate just over 700 GWh of electricity per year for the state, PURA documents say. [Hartford Business]